Cape Girardeau History and Photos

June 1, 2015March 5, 2021

135,000 Cigarettes Worth How Much?

I was curious about a big brick building at the southwest corner of William and South Main (or Water Street, depending on how you look at it). It has an “old” look to it, and an intriguing set of doors marked 101, 103, 105 and 109. (Click on the photos to make them larger.)

My first stop was the search box in The Southeast Missourian.

Almost the Discovery Playhouse

In 2007, there was a bunch of buzz that the Discovery Playhouse was going to locate there after moving from West Park Mall. Whether or not they actually moved in, I don’t know. The Playhouse is currently in the old Walther Furniture Store and Funeral Home at 502 Broadway.

The 1968 City Directory assigned Biederman Furniture Company warehouse to the 101 address, with no mention of the other bays.

In 1979, 101 was listed as vacant, and Murakami Auto Service was in Bay 103.

The Great Snow Storm Cigarette Burglary

The most interesting story was in the January 14, 1931, Southeast Missourian: “Taking advantage of the cover afforded by a blinding snowstorm, burglars Tuesday night broke into and looted the Goddard Grocer Co. building at 101 William street, of 135,000 cigarettes.”

What’s the value of 135,000 smokes?

The cigarettes were valued at about $900. Thirteen cases of Lucky Strike and Camel brands of cigarettes were taken, and about 5,000 cigarettes of miscellaneous brands were missing, the story said.

Sam’s Club in Cape is selling a carton of 200 Camel cigarettes for $43.25. That would make the 1931 haul worth about $29,193 today.

Goddard Grocer Co. was a favorite shopping spot for burglars. It was hit at least 10 times in a few years. Approximately the same amount of cigarettes were taken in a break-in on January 25, 1930. Three men who broke into Goddard Grocer, Buckner-Ragsdale Clothing Store and Kinder Drug Store on that night were sent to prison for terms ranging from four to six years.

May 31, 2015

Cape’s ‘Laboratory School’

I really hadn’t gone on the SEMO campus to shoot what used to be called College High or Campus High, the building that housed the teacher’s college’s laboratory school. (Erin Ragan wrote a little about the history of the school in 2012.)

I was there to steal a magnolia blossom off the tree on the left.

Brother Mark and I took Mother out for a drive last weekend. While cruising around, I said, “Let’s see if we can snag a magnolia blossom for your room.” The tree where I usually get the blooms didn’t have any, so Mark suggested there might be one on the SEMO campus.

Yes, indeed, there was one

I put my four-way flashers on, parked in a no-parking zone and scampered over with my trusty Buck knife in hand to snip off a blossom the size of Mother’s head. Just as I was getting back to the van, flower in hand, I heard a car coming. It was a university police car. I was rehearsing my excuse when the car passed without even slowing down.

Found the magic key

A few days later, after the bloom turned a beautiful shade of brown that I actually liked better than the white, I decided to go back to the scene of the crime to get her a second one. Same no-parking zone, same four-way flashers. This time, though, I saw a guy in a university truck slow down and give me the eye.

I stepped out of the car with my camera in hand and made a big show of taking a photo. The guy sped up and passed on by.

I used to say that you could go anywhere if you carried a clipboard and a tape measure or a ladder. I’m adding camera to the list.

May 28, 2015

U.S.N Knife

Since I’ve been living essentially by myself in Cape for several weeks, I am discovering domestic skills I never knew I had (and will promptly forget when I get back home to Florida). I won’t say I’d have stayed single had microwave ovens and good frozen food been around in 1969, but it would have expanded my options.

One of my survival techniques is to use as many plastic and paper kitchen supplies as possible. When I actually have to use real silverware, I use every knife, fork and spoon in the drawer and leave them soaking until there’s nothing left to eat with, then I wash them all at one time. (The house is old enough that it has neither a dishwasher nor a garbage disposal.)

While digging in the back of the drawer, I ran across this knife that was different than anything else around. It had a uniquely government-issue feel to it. On the handle was engraved U.S.N., which I have to assume stood for U.S. Navy. Click on the photos to make them larger.

Origin unknown

I don’t know where the knife came from. So far as I know, no one in our family ever served in the Navy. It might have been picked up at a yard sale or been in a box of stuff we acquired over the years.

Anyone seen anything like it?

P.S. Let’s keep my cooking prowess a secret, OK? It’s better that Wife Lila not learn about this. We definitely won’t tell her about the laundry thing. It’s much better that she believes that I haven’t gotten any more domesticated than this kitchen incident when the kids were little.

May 27, 2015

Jackson’s Silenced Sentinels

Almost every time I head out of Jackson from Wib’s BBQ headed toward Fruitland, I notice some big stumps on the south side of Hwy 61 near the Welcome to Jackson sign. And, every time I’ve muttered to myself, “One of these days I’m going to have to stop and shoot those things.”

The odds are pretty good you won’t see them on the way INTO Jackson like in this photo because they’re down the embankment.

Massive stumps

I finally got around to stopping.

To give you an idea how big these trees were, I put a dollar bill in the photo for scale. A bill is six inches wide, so the top of the stump is three feet or more across. It has to be at least 10 feet around. (Click on the photo to make it larger.)

What have these trees seen?

Wikipedia reports that the first post office in Jackson was established in 1814 when the area was called Birdstown. Old McKendree Chapel, the log cabin that is the oldest Protestant church standing west of the Mississippi River, was built in 1819.

I didn’t even try to count the rings to see how old the trees are (that’s a math thing), but I wonder if they were standing that long ago? Anyone want to guess what kind of tree they were and how old they might be?